Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco fractured his right leg and could be out until November, opening the door for undrafted rookie Carson Steele to step into a larger role.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Pacheco had X-rays on his right ankle after Kansas City’s 26-25 victory Sunday over the Cincinnati Bengals. An MRI on Monday morning confirmed the injury.
Pacheco, 25, was seen with a walking boot and crutches leaving Arrowhead Stadium. He was injured on a 1-yard run on the drive that ended with Harrison Butker’s game-winning field goal.
“We’ll go with the guys we have here for now,” Reid said Monday.
Reid did not discuss free agent options, including former Chiefs and Browns running back Kareem Hunt. Hunt was drafted by the Chiefs and led the NFL in rushing with Kansas City in 2017. Jerick McKinnon, who scored 16 total touchdowns in 42 regular-season games with the Chiefs from 2021-23, is also reportedly on the team’s list of free-agent visits reported by NFL Network.
“(GM Brett) Veach is going through his lists and looking at people. We have some good people here,” Reid said.
Pacheco had 90 yards on 19 carries and caught five passes for 21 yards on Sunday. He has a team-high 135 rushing yards through two games.
Since being drafted in the seventh round in 2022, Pacheco has won two Super Bowl championships and racked up 2,328 yards from scrimmage with 15 touchdowns in 33 games (26 starts). He has another 635 yards and four TDs from scrimmage in seven playoff starts.
Pacheco is headed to injured reserve. Since Kansas City has a bye in Week 6, his earliest possible return would be Oct. 27 at Las Vegas. NFL rules require players on the IR to miss four games.
Veteran Samaje Perine is listed as Pacheco’s backup on the depth chart but did not play on Sunday. He’s viewed as a third-down back. Steele, undrafted out of UCLA, carried seven times for 24 yards and fumbled against Cincinnati.
“He likes to be challenged. This will be a good challenge for him,” Reid said of Steele, who ran for 847 yards with six touchdowns in 12 games for UCLA last season. “He needs to keep the ball high and tight. He had the fumble yesterday. He doesn’t have a history of that. He has to learn from it.”
–Field Level Media
